Local residents are continuing to oppose a 'no unauthorised vehicles' sign that appeared on the bridleway track to Snidley Moor from Shepherd's Cottage at the end of March.

The track has long provided parking for people wishing to visit Snidley Moor's popular wood and heathland, and a lay-by was recently created at its bottom end to allow space both for parked cars and for passing farm machinery.

During lockdown, footfall has risen, resulting in an increase in litter and congestion along the length of the track. Recently, it seems that a collision was narrowly avoided between a horse and a vehicle pulling out onto Manley Road.

These incidents led to complaints to Cheshire West and Chester Council, who took the decision to enforce bridleway rules - which allow for bicycles and horses but not cars – for the first time in decades.

Now local users are concerned that the new sign will make Snidley Moor inaccessible for many people, as well as causing an unnecessary hazard on Manley Road, where walkers may decide to park, so creating a blind spot for passing vehicles and increasing the risk of accidents.

"I have been going up to Snidley Moor every day with the dog since 1983," Frodsham resident, Malcolm Galley, told Frodsham Nub News.

"I would take my children on my back when they were young and we still go up there together now. It's like custom and practice in the workplace: the arrangement was never specifically agreed but it was accepted by everyone involved.

"For example, the other day I met two horse-riders. I would have thought that they would be in favour of stopping parking on the track but I had a word with them and they said they think it's awful that the signs have been put up.

"I spoke with the farmer on one of my walks and he confirmed he has no real concerns with people parking cars on the track as long as the track is not blocked for his tractors.

Malcolm has also spoken to two residents of the lane, who are also happy for cars to park there "as long as people do not block the entrance to their houses."

A local professional dog walker, Vicki Conway, commented that she and her colleagues, "use the bridleway as it is a safe place to unload the dogs.

"Far from being detrimental to the local area, the majority of us really care about the environment we walk in.

"We are generally on good terms with the local farmer, never parking in a way which would impede him. We pick up the dogs' waste and often clear litter when we come across it.

"I walk there several times a week and there has never been an issue until lockdown.

"Obviously more people wanted to take their daily exercise in such beautiful surroundings and this seems to have caused the problem.

"I would hate the actions of a few to be detrimental to the rest of us who have been peacefully using the parking there for years."

It has been suggested that people wishing to visit Snidley Moor leave their cars at Beacon Hill or the Memorial Field car park, but, Malcolm argues, "this is a long way if you have children with you or you can't walk very far.

"People have already started to park on Manley Road and the Ridgeway, down at the Helsby end, which is narrower and getting busier by the day.

"It is just dangerous. I cannot understand the reasoning behind this decision, which is effectively forcing individuals to park and open their car doors onto Manley Road. This increases the chance of an accident occurring, something which none of us want to see happen."

Malcolm believes that "halfway house" solution that would satisfy all parties could be achieved if parking was banned at the narrower top end of the track, but permitted in the lay-by at the bottom.

Malcolm is among several Snidley Moor users who have written about the issue to Frodsham's MP, borough and town councillors, hoping to prompt further discussions about the way forward.